E-Verify Immigration System making its way through congress

All employers would be required to use the E-Verify system to check the immigration status of employees. Milk Business Dot Com says the requirement is part of some revisions to the Ag and Legal Workforce Act that’s currently making its way through Congress.

If the Act gets Congressional approval, it would phase in the E-Verify system over time and phase out the current I-9 system. Provisions of the Act would make it easier for employers to know if the documentation offered to prove immigration status is legitimate.

That’s one of the more difficult parts of the hiring process, especially for America’s dairy farmers. The American Dairy Coalition says under the Ag and Legal Workforce Act, workers would be subject to background checks and interviews with the Department of Homeland Security and then be granted a visa by the State Department.

When guest workers apply for employment, producers would then be able to verify the documentation through the E-Verify system to make sure they’re in the country legitimately.

The American Dairy Coalition says it will only support E-Verify if there’s a guest worker provision included in the bill. ADC CEO Laurie Fischer says, “We can’t have one without the other.”